THE SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE THE CATALYTIC EFFECT OF GOVERNMENTAL SUPPORT, TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND SPATIAL FACTORS IN SHENZHEN

Lei Danyang Jeroen van Ameijde

Introduction

The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SSEZ), viewed as China’s Silicon Valley, is regarded as a miracle of economic success (Du, 2020). In the 1980s, as part of the policy to reform and internationalise, the SSEZ was established by the central government as one of China’s first pilot areas to embrace a market-driven and global economy. Over the past 40 years the SSEZ has developed rapidly, from a border town to a global hub for technology companies. During its extraordinary growth, Shenzhen’s urban form has changed in parallel with the evolution of its political, economic and social structures.

Shenzhen’s rapid growth has been the subject of many studies between 1980-2010. Research on its economy shows that the SSEZ has benefited from high levels of exchange with its surrounding territory, compared to other international examples of special zones (Farole et al., 2011). Studies on policy highlight how the central government has delegated power to local government, enabling local policies to follow market demand (Jian, 2008).

As Shenzhen’s model has now been replicated throughout China and its “special zone” character has become less unique, discussions about the SSEZ have decreased. However, apart from its administrative model, Shenzhen is still characterised by its spe-cial functions, enabled by the SSEZ. Shenzhen’s pillar technology industry has continued to evolve, making breakthroughs while exposing bottlenecks in recent years. Therefore, studying Shenzhen’s current status is still relevant for other cities that aim to replicate Shenzhen’s successes. Moreover, most research on the SSEZ focuses on politics, economics, and business administration, while there are limited studies on the role of spatial fac-tors in the growth of Shenzhen (Ng & Tang, 2004). The rapid development of four succes-sive urban planning strategies suggests that the SSEZ has been strongly supported by spa-tial planning in its transition towards a world city (Ng, 2011). This study presented in this paper has explored the catalytic relationships amongst governmental support, technology innovation and spatial factors. The term “governmental support” in this study refers to the policy, plan- ning and other acts of the local or central government. “Technology innovation” here means the introduction of new technology in manufacturing, information services and other high-tech related industries. The term “spatial factors” refers to both urban layout on a city or regional scale and the citizen’s daily living environment on a neighbourhood scale. The study focuses on the following ques-tions:

1) In different historical stages, did the government lead or follow technology innovation?

2) How has Shenzhen’s urban layout and the living environment changed in relation to policy reforms?

3) Which types of spatial environments enhance or hinder technology innovation?

The study concludes with insights about the political and spatial qualities that contribute to the adaptivity of the city, as well as what role the planning department could play in stimulating future technology innovation and liveability.

Theories And Methods

Thomas Farole and Gokhan Akinci’s book Special economic zones: Progress, emerging challenges, and future directions provides a fundamental framework for understanding special economic zone development processes. The book describes how special economic zones usually start by attracting investment and creating jobs, and then “move from static to dynamic gains” (Farole et al., 2011, p. 20). Based on this theory, our study has divided the SSEZ’s historical stages according to several milestone events. The authors also argue that special economic zones should consider social and environmental sustainability to achieve long-term development.

To evaluate how spatial factors in Shenzhen’s planning have interacted with the government policy and industry, we refer to DeLanda’s notions of “planned and the organic processes of urban growth”, as well as “energy flow intensification” which causes the transformation in urban form (DeLanda, 1997, pp. 21, 35). These theories have provided perspectives for data collection (including government reports, research articles, news and reviews on Shenzhen’s policy, technology industry and space) and discussion. To investigate which specific spatial factors could intensify the “energy flows” that facilitate the city’s development, we refer to Richard Sennett’s “open city” theory, which describes three spatial principles related to an open system: passage territories, incomplete form and development narratives (Sennett, 2006). These principles have provided a reference for the review of Shenzhen’s spatial factors in our study.

Results

Summarising the key stages in the historic development of Shenzhen, we have attempted to map the nature of the relationships and catalytic effects between policy, technology and spatial factors for each distinct stage (Fig- ure 1). Some of the key observations derived from this exercise are summarised below.

Policy And Technology Innovation

The relationships between policy and innovation, described in the upper section of each diagram in Figure 1, show how the Shenzhen government has attracted private enterprises by creating a liberal and supportive regulatory environment. Throughout the different stages, it has aimed to create a symbiotic relationship between the government, technology innovation and economic development. Since 1992, the government also introduced policies to guide private companies, in particular stimulate copyright protection and locally driven innovation, and to prioritise environmental sustainability. A key observation is that private industry has been dependent on government policy support to attract and retain talent to the city.

Policy And Spatial Factors

The evaluation of relationships between policy and spatial factors (shown on the left side of each diagram in Figure 1), shows that the government’s construction of transportation infrastructure and the favourable population influx and trade policies have facilitated the rapid urban growth of Shenzhen. In Shenzhen’s short history, four master plans were implemented, achieving a decentralized layout and strong transport connections between the centre and outskirts of the city. Only in the recent stage